Armstrong, who served as a state lawmaker when Warner was Virginia governor and as state House Minority Leader during Kaine’s time in the governor’s mansion, is one of two names the senators submitted to the White House for a judgeship on the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia. The White House typically defers to recommendations from home-state senators regarding federal district court nominations, especially when those recommendations come from President Obama’s fellow Democrats, so Armstrong has a strong chance of becoming the president’s nominee.

Beyond his legislative record, Armstrong made a sexual joke about a fellow lawmaker in 1998 while speaking on the house floor. During a playful discussion of a basketball game between lawmakers, Armstrong quipped that Del. Jeannemarie Devolites, then a freshman Republican lawmaker, was “coming over to my place later” to “go over the playbook.’ At a post-game party, Armstrong reportedly added that Devoiltes was “’no Monica Lewinsky,’ but that she had potential.” He later apologized for these comments, saying that “to the extent that some members may have been offended by my remarks, I wish to extend an apology. … I was merely trying to bring a little levity to the process.’’

Boggs, however, was recommended by Georgia’s two Republican senators, and they were able to pressure Obama into nominating this conservative judge due to a Senate Judiciary Committee practice that allows home-state senators to veto anyone nominated to a federal judgeship in their state. Both of the Virginia senators who recommended Armstrong, by contrast, are Democrats.

Update:

Warner and Kaine’s offices sent a joint statement, which is copied below:

Senator Warner and Senator Kaine recommended two distinguished attorneys, Elizabeth Dillon and Ward Armstrong, who both received the highest ratings from the Virginia Bar Association. Ward Armstrong has the support of Virginia NARAL and Planned Parenthood, the Virginia AFL-CIO, and Democrats and Republicans all over the state. They look forward to supporting both of these nominees as the process moves forward.